Archive for the "Trading" Category

Every time we take up something new, we have doubts. And this is normal! Doubts are the result of estimating yourself, of searching personal features that are needed for this new activity. At the beginning of the journey a trader cannot avoid being unconfident of his/ her abilities, knowledge and skills. This is exactly what urges to look for more information and for the advice of the experienced, to visit courses and webinars, and in fact, to being extremely cautious. It is concerns, that trigger our self-development, that appear to be the signs of success in the future activity.

Of course, for a totally green on Forex trader it is significant to master technical and fundamental analysis. This is needed to understand the way the international currency market operates, as “trader” is a very difficult occupation, which requires skills of analysis as well as special knowledge. The sign of that the work is effective can be non-randomness of profit, ability to explain what stands behind every step on Forex market.

It may seem that having realized the rules of the financial markets and read a lot of books, i.e. having acquired sufficient information about trading and Forex, one can easily add funds into a bank account merely sitting in front of the PC connected to the Internet. But it is not that simple!

The main part of people sees the most attractive feature of trading in the easy way to earn money and fast speed of getting rich. And of course, these ideas cannot but worry and evoke powerful emotions. A novice trader is so much captivated by a zest to yield, that he / she is incapable of realistic estimation of personal actions on Forex. Aside from knowledge and logics, in order to profit on Forex, discipline and cold reasoning are necessary. An ability to stop in time, to enter the market at the correct moment, to be very attentive, to monitor carefully the currency exchange rates and to behave with no hazard – all these skills are the main supporters of a profitable trader. Being absorbed by emotions is considered as the main obstacle for the newbies.

Emotions urge to act, help to go forward and never stop. But being overwhelmed by emotions disorient and has a negative impact on the attentiveness. Huge expectations from the trades conducted increase their importance so much that they cause a trader’s lack of self-trust. In this case, this self-doubt prevents from gradual development as a professional.

So, emotions or logics? Both! The Golden Mean Rule has never been cancelled.

Using knowledge and skills of analysis will definitely help you to work on Forex, but a certain share of emotions urging you to accomplishments will not be excessive.

Each trader has his personal approach to the situation on currency market and his own trading methods and trading system. Each one chooses the strategy that to his mind is the most effective. As a rule, the opinions of traders on that subject are different.

But today we will focus on the most popular strategy appreciated by traders all over the world.

Carry trade is the trading method based on the difference between low-yielding and high-yielding national currencies. The main principle of the strategy is to purchase a currency yielding a lower interest rate and sell it at higher interest rate. In other words, you open a position with a large swap point trying not to close it as long as possible in order to get a maximum profit with the help of swap points.

The bigger the difference between the interest rates of currencies in your pair is, the bigger is the size of swap points. Therefore, you should choose currencies with the biggest difference in interest rates. The most popular currency pairs are AUD/JPY, NZD/JPY, and GBP/CHF.

You can get the necessary information on exchange rates any time. The detailed information can be easily found on the websites of central banks and Forex-brokers.

As any other trading strategy, Carry trade has its own peculiarities. Firstly, in order to gain profit you should use the large initial deposit and keep a position open as long as possible. Secondly, the interest rates are subject to fluctuations. They can change sharply which is quite risky.

Thus, in order to use the strategy Carry trade successfully, it is crucial to follow the changes of exchange rates and focus on long-term trade. In this case patience is the key to successful trade.

Traders analyze Forex market in order to make a forecast that will enable to increase the profitability of transactions. Forecast is the part of a trading plan. Different methods of analysis are used to define long-term trends, favorable conditions for opening and closing of deals, prospect price rebounds etc.

As a rule, there are two main methods of analysis on Forex:

fundamental analysis

technical analysis

Fundamental analysis is based on the investigation of different economic indicators as interest rates, inflation, business activity indices, employment, GDP. The instruments of the fundamental analysis include news, directly or indirectly connected with world financial markets, economic calendar, various statistical reports, statements of main politicians and even rumors.

Traders that follow this type of analysis must know how to separate the key aspects from secondary ones and find cause-and-effect relations between events. To make the proper use of the fundamental analysis one should be aware of the global economy and financial markets, knowing what factors and what information may affect the price of currencies and securities.

The technical analysis is based on the historical data of prices. The study of previous price changes enables to forecast the future situation. The instruments of the technical analysis are price charts, technical indicators and trade advisors. This type of analysis allows to define trends, support and resistance levels etc.

There are several types of price charts: linear, candlestick, bar. It is possible to place various indicators on charts. Most of them are integrated in trade terminal. Indicators are mainly subdivided into two groups –trend indicators and oscillatory indicators. Trend indicators define the current price tendency, oscillatory ones work better while the sideways movement indicating the oversold and the overbought market.

Also trading advisors enable to automate the trading process partially or completely. These are certain programs aimed at performing operations on Forex without trader’s participation, i.e. that advisors (robots or experts) can make deals basing on the received signals automatically.

To compile the trading forecast many traders combine different types of analysis. It is crucial to keep in mind that the forecast is just the forecast: it may not be justified. Even professional analysts sometimes make mistakes in their analysis as Forex market is not stable. The usage of various methods of analysis is crucial for successful work, but the main task of a trader is to trade in accordance with the market and respond quickly on any changes.

Forex is enveloped in myths and delusions. Having no idea about currency market functioning and work mechanisms people ascribe to Forex and trading such things that do not quadrate to facts. Let us consider the most widespread legends.

1. Forex is a complete deception.

Another variant of this phrase is: “Forex is a casino where nobody wins”. There is a suggestion that it is impossible to earn on price fluctuations, and brokerage companies are trying to put a spoke in their clients’ wheel.

A proof that this is far from being the case is brought by successful traders experience, as for them Forex has become the main source of income. We have already written that sometimes there can emerge unfair participants as well. However, their tricks can be seen through easily, if choosing the appropriate broker. There are quite many respectable companies in the market rendering good trading terms and great service – all you need is to examine the necessary information in order to take the right decision.

Worth remembering that brokerage company affords the private traders an opportunity to trade in an interbank market, offering various instruments and encouraging its customers with bonuses, campaigns etc., but that does not guarantee profit receiving finally. If you want your trading to be of success – you have to devote energies by yourself.

2. Forex requires a huge capital.

Those times when access to currency and stock markets was open for the high and mightiest only have passed. Today anyone willing may start trading and there is no huge capital required for that. No doubts that with a big deposit the work would be more effective, but you can begin with a few dollars. Modern brokers offer different account types – even cent accounts, contests and bonus programs, taking part in them it is possible to make a starting capital.

3. Forex involves a great risk.

To some extent it is really so. But it is enough to have just a little of sanity to avoid most of them. Do not put your last money into trades or the money which you borrowed. Follow the rules of money management, refine your skills, learn hedging methods and diversification risks.

4. Forex takes all the time.

Trader decides by himself how much time he is going to spend on trading. Trades can be executed 50 times a day, 5 days a week, once a year – the frequency depends on your desire, mood, trading strategy, skills etc. You don’t have to sit in front of the screen, tracking the price moves in order to be a trader. Trading can be easily combined with the main job.

5. Forex requires a special education.

Analytical skills, knowledge of maths and world economy would be useful in trading, but no special education is needed. If desired a trader can complete training at a brokerage company, attend webinars, get familiarized with a relevant Forex literature, widely accessible in the Internet and book stores.

Forex market is the youngest and fast developing financial market. For millions of people all over the world trading has become a life style and a source of income. People like to draw on imagination, but one should divide fancy from fact.

The easiest definition of swap term is assets retained or added to a trading account for prolongation (carry over) of a position to the next day or a fee for carrying a position over midnight.

Swaps can be either positive or negative. Interest for a position carry over in a currency market is paid or deducted for every open trade at 17.00 EST (Eastern Standard Time) for every trading day. Trades opened before 17.00 EST and retained after this time are considered as carried over till next day and are charged or credited with an interest depending on a trading position opened by trader.

The currency of one country bought/sold by trader versus the one of another determines if it is going to be positive or negative swap. The swap rates are set by currency rates composing a currency pair. In case the loan rate exceeds the deposit one, the swap is written off from a trading account. Positive swap is credited when the active rate of bought currency is higher than the one of sold currency.

The target of Forex traders is to derive profit running speculative operations with currency contracts. Practically, a currency delivery does not take place. Working through a brokerage company, trader may apply to leverage and hold positions open for as long as he wants. In case a factual currency delivery is expected, it should have been accomplished within 2 days.

In most cases a position carrying over to the next day is implemented automatically by broker. It is required for prolongation of a current open position and avoiding a real accrual of purchased currency to a trading account. Swap combines with buying or selling of two contracts with different settlement dates on equal terms. If a position remains open by the end of the day, it will be closed and opened immediately, but with a small gap. During trade execution a currency purchased by trader is conditionally deposited into bank at interest, and the sold currency is taken as a loan at interest rate as well. For instance, you open a trade with USD/JPY pair, buying dollars for yens. In case at that time the interest rate in the USA is higher (for example, at 1%) than in Japan (0.3%), then you will have the difference between them (0.7%) accrued. If you would sell dollars buying yens, then you would have to pay the difference between the rates.

From Wednesday to Thursday a triple swap is added or deducted. Why? As trade calculations and currency delivery would have been completed on the second day (in our case it is Saturday), when world banks are closed, the settlement date shifts to Monday and the swap is calculated for 3 days.

Positive swaps allow trader to raise additional profit. Currencies with huge interest rate difference are actively applied in carry trade operations for gaining only due to rate fluctuations and swaps.

Some brokers provide their customers with swap-free accounts, if standard trading terms run counter to their religious convictions. On swap-free accounts (also called Islamic) any currency pair trades can be executed, but if they are carried over midnight, trader gets no profit or loss.